What is Family Constellations Therapy? Healing the Hidden Patterns in Our Families
Have you ever noticed yourself repeating patterns you never consciously chose? The same relationship difficulties appearing again and again… or a sadness that feels larger than your own story. Sometimes, even health issues—like fatigue, autoimmune conditions, or menstrual disorders—seem to echo across generations.
This is something I see often in my naturopathy clinic: we carry burdens that don’t entirely belong to us. They can come from the family system—pain, trauma, or exclusions that ripple down the line until someone unknowingly picks them up.
Family Constellations therapy offers a way of bringing these hidden patterns into the light, allowing space for healing and release.
Where It Began
Family Constellations was developed by German psychotherapist Bert Hellinger in the late 1980s. He observed that when grief, trauma, or injustice isn’t acknowledged within a family, the effects don’t simply vanish. They can resurface, sometimes generations later, as:
depression and anxiety
recurring conflict or estrangement
addictions or destructive behaviours
chronic illness or unexplained health conditions
At its heart, this work sees us not as isolated individuals but as part of a living web of connection. As the poet Rumi wrote: “We are born of love; love is our mother.” That love, when entangled with pain, can also keep us bound—until it is seen and restored.
What Happens in a Family Constellations Session?
Constellations can be done in groups or one-to-one sessions.
In groups: you share the issue you’d like to explore—such as anxiety, repeating anger, infertility struggles, or conflict in relationships. Other participants are then invited to “represent” members of your family system. Remarkably, they often begin to feel emotions and perspectives that mirror the real family members, without ever having met them.
One-to-one sessions: I may use objects or markers instead of people, but the process is the same—unseen dynamics surface gently and clearly.
As the facilitator, I guide the process with care. Sometimes all it takes is a single acknowledgement—a healing sentence, a missing truth named—for the family system to relax and for the client to feel relief.
What Family Constellations Can Help With
People come to Family Constellations for many reasons, including:
Emotional struggles: depression, anxiety, grief, rage, or a constant sense of heaviness
Relationship issues: repeating conflicts, estrangement, difficulty with intimacy, or co-dependency
Health conditions: chronic fatigue, autoimmune illness, digestive problems, menstrual or hormonal issues (as part of a holistic naturopathic plan)
Feeling stuck: carrying limitations, fears, or a sense of being blocked without knowing why
Instead of asking “What’s wrong with me?”, this work reframes the question as: “What am I carrying for my family?”
From Family Constellations to Rapid Core Healing
Of course, not everything we carry comes from our family lineage. Many people also live with deeply personal traumas—childhood neglect, bullying, abusive relationships, accidents, or sudden loss. These may not come from ancestors, but they leave lasting imprints in the nervous system and shape our reactions today.
This is where Rapid Core Healing (RCH) comes in. It’s an evolution of Family Constellations that works directly with both systemic and personal trauma.
How Rapid Core Healing Works
We identify the root of a painful reaction (for example: panic attacks, feelings of unworthiness, or PMDD rage).
Through a guided process, you reconnect with the younger or traumatised part of yourself and provide the protection or compassion that was missing at the time.
The nervous system experiences safety and completion, allowing the trauma imprint to dissolve.
Why This Matters for PMDD and Other Health Conditions
In my work with women experiencing PMDD (Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder), this combination of Family Constellations and RCH has been life-changing. PMDD isn’t “just hormones.” It’s the way the body and nervous system respond to hormonal shifts—responses often shaped by unresolved trauma, both inherited and personal.
But this work isn’t only for PMDD. It also helps clients struggling with:
autoimmune conditions that flare under stress
chronic gut issues like IBS or SIBO
skin conditions worsened by emotional triggers
fertility struggles that have an emotional or systemic component
persistent fatigue or burnout where no medical cause is clear
By addressing both inherited patterns (through Family Constellations) and personal trauma imprints (through RCH), clients often find profound relief and a sense of freedom they couldn’t access through conventional or surface-level approaches.
What to Expect
You don’t need to relive every detail of your past for this work to be effective. Often, very little needs to be said. Clients describe the process as surprising, mysterious even—but deeply relieving.
The outcomes are often felt immediately: a weight lifts, clarity returns, and peace begins to settle. These shifts can continue to ripple through relationships, health, and wellbeing for weeks or months afterwards.
Healing the Invisible Threads
Both Family Constellations and Rapid Core Healing are rooted in compassion, not blame. They remind us that many of our struggles are not personal flaws, but part of a larger tapestry—woven from inherited pain and our own lived experiences.
As Bert Hellinger said: “When we honour the past, we find peace in the present.”
These therapies offer us a way to do just that—releasing systemic and personal trauma, restoring balance to the nervous system, and reclaiming the freedom to live fully in our own lives.
About Camilla Clare
Camilla Clare Brinkworth (BHSc Naturopathy, Grad Cert Human Nutrition), is a naturopath, nutritionist, and trauma-informed practitioner based in Bali and online worldwide. She specialises in women’s health, PMDD support, plant-based nutrition, and trauma healing through Family Constellations and Rapid Core Healing. Having walked her own journey with PMDD and chronic health challenges, Camilla combines evidence-based natural medicine with emotional healing methods to help women find balance in mind, body, and hormones.